Calvinism vs. Arminianism - Does God Choose Us or Do We Choose God?

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Calvinism vs. Arminianism? These two may sound like very confusing theological words but essentially the question boils down to, "Does a person get saved by first choosing Christ or by God first choosing them?" In this video we will explore the major differences between what has been called the "Calvinism vs. Arminianism Debate." To put it simpler, "does man have total free will to accomplish his own salvation or has God predetermined it?" Let me know your thoughts!

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[feuerrm]

I am neither a Calvinist nor an Arminian; I believe they are two opposite extremes and the truth is in the middle. I have thought long and hard about this subject, and I believe I have come up with a pretty good allegory to explain what I believe about the matter.


We are all drowning at the bottom of an infinite ocean. God's grace and mercy in showing us the way to Him lift us to the surface of the ocean, where God extends a hand to each person. If a person accepts God's hand, God lifts him out of the raging sea to salvation. But a person may also choose to ignore God's hand, and since I believe God does not force salvation upon anyone, that person is not saved.


My problem with extreme Calvinism is that it essentially makes us robots. True love is never forced. God created us to glorify Him, and if we were forced to serve Him, we would not truly love Him, for we would have no choice in the matter. I'm not saying that man saves Himself; God does all of the work, we just have to choose Him and then he promises to save us. Also, God says that he wishes for everyone to come to Him. For that to be the case and it being a fact that not everyone is saved, God must not force Himself upon us, else He would be a liar, which He is not. (2 Peter 3:9, 1 Timothy 2:4)


My problem with Arminianism is that it gives man the credit for salvation. This is even more biblically inaccurate than Calvinism, for the Bible clearly teaches in multiple passages that man cannot save himself and that it is "by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)


So I fall in the middle, believing that only through God's grace and mercy may we come to know the way of salvation, and once we repent of our sins and accept Him, He will save us. He sends no one to hell; rather, we are all naturally on our way to hell due to being sinners, and when God saves us we are then on our way to heaven. Through God's foreknowledge, He knows exactly who will be saved and who will not be.


From what I have studied, this is the most biblically accurate view of salvation. Thank you for reading :)

[jimlaw]

Man: Does God choose us or do we choose God?

God: Yes.

[eldergambrell]

I see it as a marriage proposal (b/c the church is the bride of Christ.) The man chooses his bride by proposing to her. She chooses him also by accepting the proposal. God chooses us, & we must choose Him.

[edithst-hilaire]

I was going back and forth on this topic, first siding with the “free will” of man, but the more I read the Scriptures, from OT to NT, the more I began to side with God’s complete sovereignty. With that said, whichever way one leans, it doesn’t impact their salvation. Thanks for a great video!

[aishajohnson]

I’ve always asked this question and I told my friend about it when she was wanting me to follow Christ and she didn’t have the exact answer but she said that God will NEVER turn away from someone who asks him for salvation. And that’s all I needed to hear. It gave me peace

[donh]

it’s important for all Christians to remember during this debate that our salvation is not based on picking one of these worldly views. So remember to love one another while debating this fun topic

[sargewinszombies]

Ok guys, story time.

When I was around 6 years old, my dad led my younger brother and I in the sinner’s prayer. However I don’t think I was really saved because I was living in willful sin and actually treated OSAS as a license to sin. About 6 months ago (February 2nd) I made the choice as an adult (I’m 20 now) to answer Christ call. I knew I was living in sin, without a care in the world; my temper was short, my patience little, my tongue full of profanity, my lust uncontrollable, and was angry at God. I was strongly considering dropping out and giving up on college because I had no direction in my life. All of this made worse due to me being on the Autism Spectrum. In other words, I was a complete wreck.

However, when I trusted in Christ, MAJOR changes took place in my life. I came to realize just how dead in my sin I was, and I, as well as others, began seeing the fruit of the Holy Spirit within myself. Certain video games I used to play I couldn’t bear to even see on my computer screen anymore; my impatience towards my family disappeared little by little, and I’m now working to repair the relationship between them and I. A desire to spread the good news of the Gospel sprung within me, as well as the desire to go to Church, fellowship with other Christians, and read my Bible; all of which used to be chores for me. Lust and sexual self-gratification decreased, though I still struggle with temptation. If I do sin, it would eat me from the inside out until I confessed it to God.

I do have seasons where I feel far from God and crave the joy I receive when I feel close. There are times where I’ll fall and give in to temptation and sin, but the fact that if we humble ourselves and confess our sins He is faithful and will forgive (1 John 1:9) gives me strength to get back up and continue on in my walk with Christ.

The fact that these things are happening gives me assurance that the Holy Spirit is working within me, and combining that with the knowledge that God will finish what he started (Philippians 1:6) gives me faith in all of God’s promises and assures me that I am sealed.

Whoever happens to read this whole thing (I know it’s long😬), remember that God loves you more than you can possibly imagine, and WANTS a relationship with you! And if you’re truly in Christ, you’ll see growth and change!

God Bless❤️🙏🏻

[OnlyJalenPhd]

Absolutely! If the Holy Spirit wouldn’t have called us, we wouldn’t have believed. The Holy Spirit first softens our heart, in order for us to see Truth! Excellently said! Thank you, for putting this out here for us.

[cameronreed]

God knows what's going to happen but He gave us a will

[CeCeW]

When I get to heaven, I have a feeling I'm not going to care either way. I'll be to busy worshipping God and/or hanging out with those who will also be there.

[carsonhayes]

I believe it’s somewhere in the middle, but I also believe it’s something we as man will never be able to fully realize here on earth, and I’m excited to ask the Father this one day.

[jillv]

Thank you so much, Allen. My son definitely leans towards Calvinism and has charged me with learning more about this. And though I’m still learning about this (I have a bit of an opinion so far, but not ready to decide fully yet), your presentation has made the most sense to me so far.

[apersonfoundinyeshua]

Neither one make 100% sense. I choose John 3:16 Jesus Christ is awesome ✝️❤️

[ciridan]

I literally prayed that you’d speak about this

[harveymartin]

This is one of many Bible Mysteries...
for example...
"You are invited to my place for a party" said The speaker to the congregation....
How many people did the speaker invite to the party???
Some would say everyone...
Other people will say "just me"....
Both answers are wrong and correct at the same time...
But don't get caught up on the invite!!!
Just serve GOD, and make it to the party....

[tomm]

Every Knee Will Bow and Every Tongue Will Confess that Jesus Christ is Lord Hallelujah God Bless ✌

[breece]

Why would we ever "choose" God? Man is so depraved and in sin.. we are not capable of choosing God. I praise God that He chose me despite my sin. What unfathomable grace.

[jesseschulz]

This was pretty good. I’ve been studying Calvinism for the past couple of months VERY SLOWLY haha it’s a lot to dissect. One of the beautiful things about it I think is that despite my how much of a sinner I was toward a Holy and Righteous God, He displayed such a love toward me He chose to save me when I deserved His wrath. That blows my mind and I can’t help but to praise Him for it!

[nateboy]

This is one of those things that many seem to just get really upset about. I’m just over 16 and a half, but like seven months ago I first heard about Reformed Theology and some of the beliefs associated with it and got frustrated. I tried looking up verses I could use to refute people who identify as Calvinists or Reformed. That went on for like a month. Over time, I learned that even though I may disagree with them on some things, that doesn’t mean I should get really mad at them and try to refute all of their beliefs. If any of you are sitting there, being frustrated at the beliefs associated with Calvinism/Reformed theology, just stop and try to calm down. I’d recommend listening to a couple sermons from people who are considered to be Reformed or whatever, so that you could better understand where they are coming from. Thank you for taking your time to read this.

[kylebrotzel]

I'm not an Arminian, but I believe we have free will